


I've Known You So Long That No One Else Can

by Bethalous



Category: Doom (2005), Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Basically cold hearted Reaper, Bottom!Khan, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Fluff, John Grimm is Leonard McCoy, Khan and Leonard have history, Killer McCoy/Grimm, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Or chronologically compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ridiculous Almost Enemies, Sweet, eventually anyway, just making it up really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-08
Updated: 2016-04-29
Packaged: 2018-03-16 20:38:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 19,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3502004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bethalous/pseuds/Bethalous
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leonard McCoy and Khan Noonien Singh had a rather troublesome relationship in the past. Now that one of them is an enemy of Starfleet and the other is the Chief Medical Officer of the Enterprise, it hasn't gotten any easier. In fact, Leonard (and he refuses to think of himself as John now) thinks it might have gotten worse. Which doesn't make much sense as they haven't spoken for a few centuries. But if the Enterprise is to get back to Earth safely, differences are going to have to be settled and secrets are going to have to be revealed. And maybe, just maybe, the Reaper might have a bit of fun.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. End of the Disguise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [milkywaymidnight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/milkywaymidnight/gifts).



> milkywaymidnight wanted more McKhan so I have given it. This is a WIP and may take a while as I have actual work to be writing but it won't be abandoned.  
> So I've messed with the chronology of both movies: basically John Grimm was serumed before/while the augments were created and then he spent the years after the whole ARC disaster trying to take them down. I have this idea that he and Khan spent years just trying to kill each other but never quite succeeding as each had exceptional healing abilities (because no way did Khan actually avoid being hit by those Klingons in STID, he just heals fast).  
> Past events will happen in italicised chapters to try and avoid long explanations of backstory.  
> Beginning of STID happened as canon and it is clear where I have cut off from it.  
> Not beta'd and I hope you all enjoy.

Leonard wasn’t prepared for this. Yes, it had been almost 300 years, but this wasn’t a scenario he had ever expected to happen. It was supposed to be over; that life. So standing there, with Khan Noonien Singh locked in the brig before him, he could admit to himself that he was panicking. As Jim and Spock walked right up to the trapped man, Leonard hung back with his head down, trying to control his breathing and keep unnoticed by the tall dark haired man from his past. This can’t be happening, he thought. He hadn’t wanted to run so badly in years but now he could feel his heart pounding in a way that it just didn’t any more. He could hear Jim getting antsy with Khan – and what was it with the guy calling himself John Harrison? It didn’t suit him and Leonard definitely wasn’t flattered – so he steeled himself and walked over, keeping his head down.  
“Dr McCoy here is going to take a blood sample now. Do behave for him,” Jim was saying so Leonard knew he couldn’t hide any more. He looked up, meeting Khan’s eyes instantly…and got exactly the reaction he was hoping not to receive. Khan’s eyes widened in shock and horror (though for an instant Leonard was sure he also saw a tiny bit of relief which he couldn’t understand and so decided to ignore – he had bigger problems after all.) and he stepped back from the glass quickly, never looking away from Leonard. He was shaking his head, muttering ‘no’ over and over, and as he did so, his whole self got angrier. Leonard didn’t look away from him either, despite knowing that they weren’t alone and that Jim and Spock were sharing confused frowns. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. Should he continue trying to hide his true identity, even though there would definitely be questions from the two men beside him? Or did he finally admit to his past and stop hiding? He was tired of constantly being alone, and he had found a good friend, a brother, in Jim, so perhaps it was time to be honest. This decided he gave Khan a grim smile and said “It’s been a while.”  
Khan looked like he wasn’t going to answer but managed to say stiffly “It has.” Jim and Spock were now shooting looks between the two of them and Leonard knew that it wouldn’t be long before one of them interjected. He still wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say, or even what he wanted to say, but he was too worked up to keep quiet. “Sooooo….you’re back. On Earth.”  
“Are we really doing this John?” Khan asked irritably. “Pretending that we did not spend years trying to permanently kill each other? Just ask your questions.”  
“Fine,” Leonard replied just as angrily. “Why are you back on Earth? How even?” He knew that he was drawing even more interest and confusion from their audience but he had to know. Khan was supposed to be gone from his life, forever. They glared at each other but eventually Khan deigned to answer him.  
“I was not planning to come back. I did not have much choice though.” His voice was filled with more malice than Leonard had ever heard in it so he didn’t envy whoever it was that had it directed at them.  
“What do you mean? Who could have made the great Khan Noonien Singh act against his will,” Leonard said mockingly and suddenly Khan was right up against the glass in front of him, hands curled in fists as he glared with such hatred that Leonard would have flinched if he wasn’t used to the look, regardless of the fact he hadn’t seen it in centuries.  
“We cannot all be as free as the Reaper,” Khan spat at him. “Just because you care for none but yourself-“  
“Now you know that isn’t true!” Leonard shouted, anger making his blood boil. He hated that Khan had always been able to make him lose himself in rage with just a few words. It seemed that even now, after so long apart, they were stuck in the same cycle of angry words and harsh actions.  
“Is it not?” Khan asked spitefully.  
“No,” he replied firmly. Khan tutted, and finally turned his gaze from Leonard to glare off to the side but Leonard didn’t look away from him. He’d learnt that lesson the hard way.  
“Bones…” was suddenly uttered quietly from beside him and he sighed, knowing he had to give answers to someone else soon but he needed to finish interrogating Khan first.  
“Just tell me who brought you back to Earth. And why you’re here, on the _Enterprise_. I know you, you let yourself be caught.” Khan stared at him, obviously assessing whether to answer or not but he seemed to want to.  
“You never seem to work for acceptable people Reaper. You should stick to the solo life.”  
“What do you mean?” Leonard asked. “What has Starfleet got to do with this?”  
“Why do you think I destroyed Section 31? And then went after the senior members of Starfleet?”  
Leonard thought about it and suddenly it all clicked.  
“Marcus. Admiral Marcus. He was head of Section 31, and he sent us after you. He found the S.S Botany Bay.” Khan grinned at him, seemingly impressed.  
“Very good John. Still as clever as ever.”  
“With age comes wisdom. And I don’t go by John anymore. Though it seems you do.”  
“Are you flattered?” Khan was smirking now, done with the fear and settling back into his arrogant self.  
Hardly,” Leonard replied easily, not giving an inch. Khan didn’t lose his smirk though.  
“So what do you go by?”  
“Leonard. Not that you have any reason to call me that. Now why did you let yourself get caught?” Khan’s expression became grim again, his mouth twisting up into a snarl.  
“You remember my family, _Leonard_? How much they meant to me? How I would do anything for them?”  
“Marcus has them doesn’t he?” Leonard guessed.  
“He did. Now they are in your torpedoes.” Leonard raises both eyebrows at that. It was a Leonard McCoy gesture, and though every second he spent in Khan’s company he felt John Grimm/Reaper sliding into place, this persona was the closest to his original and was his favourite. Khan didn’t shrug at him but Leonard felt the action all the same in his eyes; they were saying that he had his reasons and he didn’t need to explain them to such lowly people. (The last part might have just been Leonard’s biased thoughts but he doubted he was far off.)  
“What a safe place to put them.” He turned up the sarcasm, the best defence he’d ever had. “Mind explaining why you thought torpedoes were a good hiding place?”  
“I had to get them away from Marcus. However, before I could steal them away, he caught on to me and I had to run.” Khan looked slightly more composed now, though Leonard could see the moisture trapped in the corners of his eyes.  
“You knew whoever he sent after you would be carrying the torpedoes. That he’d use them against you as punishment.”  
“You know how humans are,” Khan said, his smile back and spiteful. “They are always looking to control and hurt you.”  
“Not all of them,” Leonard answered reflexively. They’d had the argument on humanity so many times that they knew their lines perfectly. It was the topic they always circled back to, no matter what they started fighting about. Another thought made its way into Leonard’s head and he glared accusingly at Khan. “You wouldn’t also happen to know why the _Enterprise_ is stuck in enemy space, would you?” Khan’s grin was answer enough but Leonard crossed his arms, waiting for an actual response.  
“Marcus, like all humans, craves power. He wants a war with the Klingons, and if a Starfleet ship is caught having fired upon their home world? Then he will have it.”  
“Just what I need, to be involved in another war because of you,” Leonard muttered, his voice annoyed and Khan obviously wasn’t pleased with either his tone or his words because he replied heatedly “I did not cause the first one.”  
“Well you weren’t exactly innocent,” Leonard threw back and then they were glaring at each other again.  
“He will not let me go. I have given him too much,” Khan said quietly, and Leonard’s glare softened into a frown.  
“What do you mean?” Memories of Khan’s talents jumped quickly to mind. “What have you given him?”  
“Something to win his war. A ship with capabilities that you cannot hope to win against.”  
“Great.” He turned away from the glass separating the two of them now and found himself looking at Jim and Spock. The Vulcan wasn’t one for showing emotion, but Leonard could read the same emotions in his eyes that were clearly displayed across Jim’s face. He owed them a very long explanation but it appeared that it would have to wait. He turned back to Khan and said begrudgingly “I guess we can’t let him get his hands on you.” Khan let out a short, disbelieving laugh, and Leonard was back to glaring at him. “That doesn’t mean I won’t kick your ass.”  
“I would expect nothing less,” Khan said, falsely sweet and Leonard couldn’t help the snort from escaping.  
“Does someone want to explain to me what the hell is going on?” Jim’s voice suddenly burst out, and Leonard was silently impressed that he had managed to last so long without interrupting.  
“Marcus is coming to kill us,” Leonard said bluntly. “Most likely anyway. He’ll probably try to convince you to give up Khan but that really isn’t an option.” Khan looked smug here so Leonard was quick to add “I’ll kill him if we have to make a choice between him and us.” The smugness was swiftly replaced with hatred and Leonard let himself grin at that.  
“Why would the Admiral do such a thing?” Spock asked. “Are we really expected to trust this man? He is a killer.” Leonard was quick to answer before Khan could rattle of the usual “Because he’s human” answer.  
“Marcus is a military man and a war would gain him a lot of prestige, especially if he’s the only one with the technology capable of handling it. As for trusting Khan? I’d advise against ever doing that but it’s not as if Marcus has been particularly honest. For god’s sake, he had us chasing a man that doesn’t exist. John Harrison is nothing more than a front. Starfleet runs background on all personnel; Marcus would’ve known that it was a fake identity, especially seeing as he was employing him for a secret section.”  
“There’s still a lot of explaining that needs doing Bones,” Jim said, looking at him expectantly and Leonard hated the flicker of hurt he could see in those bright blue eyes.  
“I know. But we can’t be caught here. We need to get _Enterprise_ running and get back to Earth. I’ll explain everything there, I promise.” He looked at Jim pleadingly and luckily the younger man understood just how serious the situation was.  
“Spock, go to the bridge, make sure there’s no other problems and be ready to leave on my word. I’ll head down to engineering and try and help Chekov. Bones…”  
“I’ll stay here. Just in case we need to move Khan quickly.” At Jim’s worried looked Leonard hurried to reassure him. “Don’t worry, I can handle him.” Jim still looked sceptical but he left with Spock. Leonard let out a sigh then turned an exhausted glare on Khan. “Why do you always have to ruin things?” Khan looked insulted at that and quickly defended himself.  
“I did not do this purposefully to ruin your little lie. It is not like you would have had long here anyway.”  
“That is beside the point! Every time I think I can just be happy, suddenly you’re there causing trouble. You were supposed to leave Earth and I would never have to see you again!”  
“Then why offer to watch me? Why not let Marcus take me?” Khan seemed unnervingly interested in his answers, watching him with narrowed but curious eyes. Leonard wasn’t really sure of the answer but he answered anyway.  
“No one needs a war, and if Marcus has you then there will be no stopping him. Besides, only I’m allowed to kill you.” Khan actually laughed at that and Leonard found himself smiling humourously as well.  
“So the fearsome Reaper, killer of augments, is to be my protector?” Khan asked, irony heavy in his voice.  
“I guess so. Means you better be careful to do as I say.” They stared at each other neutrally now. They both realised that if they wanted to get through this then they were going to have to work together. They had never done it before but Leonard was sure that they knew each other better than anyone else ever could, despite the long gap between last seeing each other. Khan wouldn’t have changed much, what with being frozen, though he had probably become more ruthless, and Leonard knew that he himself had barely changed. Yes, he’d spent the last few decades living passively, but the Reaper was always just under the surface. They knew each other, so how hard could it really be? He wasn’t sure that he actually wanted that question answered though.


	2. Nothing's Changed

Khan paced in his cell, trying to keep his eyes from straying to the man guarding him but it was difficult. He had thought he had seen the last of John ‘Reaper’ Grimm on the day he left Earth, and when he had returned he certainly had not expected to see him working for Starfleet. **And a doctor?!** That was not like the Reaper, though Khan knew that he had medical training. Giving in to his curiosity, Khan sat on the cell’s bench and observed the man with his back to him.

‘Leonard’, as he was to be addressed now, appeared no different now than the last time they met. He still stood just on the edge of relaxed, ready to act in a second, but there had been a softness to his posture when addressing the captain that spoke of familiarity and trust. He had never seen that before, or the gentleness in his gaze. Khan knew that those hazel eyes could fake those emotions but it now seemed genuine. He was oddly pleased at the notion that…Leonard…had a family now, and it was not because he wanted to exploit them as a weakness, though he would not hesitate to do so if need be, but because he knew how long his rival had been alone. This family was new to him – he could see it in the glint that hid in the golden flecks in Leonard’s eyes; the little pieces of Reaper that had not had time to be pushed all the way down. It was clear that Leonard had spent the centuries since his departure without getting to close enough to anyone to care until now, and it made Khan even more curious about this Captain Kirk that could settle such a dangerous man. Not that it would last. He could see how Leonard was straining against his true nature, trying to keep it under control. Even if they had not been reunited, it would not have been much longer until he snapped under the pressure and Khan allowed himself to smirk at that. He had always told John that he needed to just let go. But instead of listening, it seemed ‘John’ had gone altogether – or maybe not. The man before him was almost ‘John’, just with a family to protect and Khan had always wondered how that would change him. He had never known him as a family man but he had known about the sister that was killed by the UAC. It seemed ‘Leonard’ was who ‘John’ was meant to be. He smiled at this. He now truly knew his rival, all the things that had happened between their last meetings did not count – Khan just knew that those decades mainly belonged to the Reaper, with perhaps a few of the more recent years being dedicated to learning everything to do with medicine. And Khan had no doubt that Leonard had learnt all he could – he had always been curious with a thirst for knowledge.

“Are you just going to stare at me all the time?”

Khan was pulled from his thoughts but he knew how to control his body so he gave no sign of being surprised at being addressed. He just focused on the man’s face, on his smirk, and knew that despite his control, Leonard knew exactly what he had been thinking about and that he had not expected to be spoken too. It made his blood boil to be so transparent to someone but at least it went both ways.

“You enjoyed it once.” The reaction was just as he had hoped; Leonard snarled at him and whipped away from facing him, his face flushing slightly. Khan leant back and closed his eyes, listening to the other man take a couple of deep breaths, and most likely mentally talk himself out of just killing Khan now.

“I assume you were trying to work out how much I’ve changed?”

“You haven’t,” Khan answered, and opened his eyes to see Leonard frowning at him slightly. “You have not changed,” Khan expanded, “At least not much.”

“I suppose not,” Leonard said, his face returning to the neutral expression Khan was used to seeing from him when killing anyone who was not him. They settled into silence, one that was not exactly comfortable but there was not any tension thrumming in it either.

Suddenly the whole ship jerked and they tipped off balance. They both recovered quickly and locked eyes.

“That did not sound good,” Khan hedged and Leonard considered him for no longer than a minute before walking over to the control panel to the cells.

“If I let you out,” he warned, fixing Khan with a killer’s gaze, “you do exactly as you’re told. And if you even think of hurting any of the crew, I will kill you and throw you out the airlock. I’d like to see you survive that.” Khan nodded once – and Leonard opened the cell. He stepped down from it and followed Leonard quickly out of the brig.

“To engineering?” he asked and received a nod in answer. They walked briskly down the corridors of the ship getting some confused glances from other crew members but no one stopped them. A call came across Leonard’s comm, requesting that he come to sickbay but he ignored it, though Khan saw the flicker of guilt in his eyes for doing so. His rival was definitely invested in these people and it gave Khan a pang for his own family but he quickly shoved it aside as they entered engineering. They made their way through quickly and found the captain arguing with a young blonde man whose heavy accent pronounced him as Russian.

“Jim,” Leonard called, drawing attention to them.

“Bones? What are you doing here? And why is he out?” The last question was asked with a pointed glare at Khan that he ignored. This did not seem to make the captain any happier.

“He can probably help,” Leonard said simply and Khan stepped forward and past them all to look at the screens revealing the problem. It only took him a few minutes to isolate the problem but fixing it would be difficult and it was doubtful that they’d actually manage to finish and leave before Marcus showed up.

“I have a solution, but it will take time,” he said, gaining the other’s stares. He could see the captain was not going to listen to him so he glanced at Leonard and gave a slight tilt of his head. The man easily understood and began speaking: “Jim, he can help. Just listen to him. He knows what he’s talking about.” The captain gave one last glare then came to stand beside Khan with the young Russian engineer.

“Okay then. How do we fix her?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I admit it, I finished the chapter here so that I wouldn't have to reveal my complete lack of technological know-how. Oh well, you guys can just pretend that between now and the 4th chapter (which hasn't been written yet) that Khan does some wizardry to the engine. Next chapter though is a flash back to Khan and Leonard's first meeting.


	3. I Saw You Across the Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because the last chapter was actually supposed to be written and posted at the weekend, you get this short chapter as well. It's a flashback so Leonard is known as John. It's also dedicated to BotanyCameos who really loves Bottom!Khan. Well here you go, this is the beginning of just such a Khan.  
> Also, not sorry about leaving you hangin'.

_John walked confidently around the ballroom, back straight, the image of a rich gentleman. He might not actually be a member of this type of crowd but he knew how to fake it, and fake it well. He had already sighted several targets and it was now only a question of getting each one alone so that he could kill them. It would actually be rather easy seeing as all of them had taken the time to give him an interested once over as he walked by. He wasn’t fazed by the attention; he knew that he looked good in the tuxedo and their attraction to him would only make his job easier._

_He had just decided to approach the first target when his hand was grabbed. It took all his concentration not to react reflexively and break the arm of whoever it was, but he let himself be turned around by his hand. When he got a good look at who it was, he felt his heart jump. The man holding his hand, rather gently now that he considered it, was devilishly handsome with sharp cheekbones, piecing blue-grey eyes and dark brown hair that had been slicked back but appeared to have a curl to it. John blinked once, preserving the man’s face to memory, then raising one eyebrow delicately in question, pointedly glancing at his held hand. The man smiled, almost shyly it seemed, and asked “I was wondering if I could have the next dance?” John considered their height reflexively, they were almost eye to eye, the stranger slightly taller, and nodded. After all, one dance wouldn’t hurt. He allowed the man to steer him onto the dance floor and then found himself in hold, but not as the follower. He tilted his head in curiosity at his companion and was rewarded with the slightest of blushes._

_“I would rather you led,” the handsome stranger said quietly and John shot him a reassuring and pleased smile and began to lead them in the dance._

_“You haven’t asked my name yet,” he said conversationally as they carefully twisted around the room._

_“Would you tell me if I asked?” was the coy reply, followed by another of the almost-blushes._

_“It’s John,” he said, and waited for a name in return._

_“My name is Khan.” This was accompanied by a shy smile and John gave another reassuring one back – it seemed his dance partner didn’t go out of his way to get so acquainted with people. Deciding to show off, John pulled Khan round into a spin. It earned him a sharp gasp of surprise and then a solid chest against his own. A chest with an exceptionally slow heartbeat. John didn’t react to the knowledge that the man against him was another augment, only continued to lead their dance and Khan clearly didn’t think anything was wrong. Well of course he wouldn’t, John though. How was Khan to know that the augment killer was at this party and that he had just asked them to dance? Blue-grey eyes suddenly locked with his and John felt his breath catch. This one was very beautiful, and John thought that he might actually regret killing Khan, but it wouldn’t stop him. He couldn't allow the augments to keep living, not if humanity was to survive. Keeping his eyes locked with Khan’s, he proceeded to dance them closer to the edge of the dance floor and then stepped off of it. Khan followed willingly as he guided him by the hand out of the room and into a hallway, their eyes never leaving each other’s. John led him further and further away from the ballroom, eventually pulling him onto a small balcony. Khan walked slowly past him to lean against the rail, glancing at him briefly with eyes both nervous and excited. John thought it odd for an augment to act so much like a blushing virgin but assumed that he was one of the newer ones, not yet used to being out in society and especially not used to such attention. With Khan standing before him, looking over the gardens with his back to him, John pulled his gun from its holster under his suit jacket and levelled it at Khan’s head._


	4. We Are Matching Killers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the really long wait. I had no motivation for ages but I am back now and hopefully this should pick up.
> 
> Edit 21/7: Slightly changed the ending of chapter so that phasers aren't lost.

With Khan’s help, the time to fix the engines was cut in half but it still wasn’t quite quick enough. Leonard had taken Khan back to medical to wait for the jump to warp and they were there when Marcus’ voice came across the ship wide comm. They listened in silence with the rest of the ship as Jim and Marcus battered back and forth. “He won’t give you up,” Leonard said unthinkingly at one point and Khan simply accepted the reassurance with a nod. They both felt it when Enterprise jumped into warp but Khan didn’t relax like Leonard expected him too.  
“What’s wrong?” he asked, a frown settled on his face.  
“We are not safe at warp.”  
“What do you mean?” Leonard hissed, not pleased with only being given half an answer.  
“The ship I built for Marcus is far superior, even at warp,” Khan said bluntly and Leonard cursed then scrambled to keep himself standing as Enterprise shuddered as if shot. Khan grabbed his arm to balance him and it took all he had not to punch Khan or throw himself away. Khan seemed to notice his struggle and released him the instant he was standing firmly. They stared at each other for a moment, uncertain how to continue. They were enemies; it had been acknowledged between them that they always would be long ago, so how could they really be expected to just put it all aside. For as much as he thought of the crew of the Enterprise as family, Leonard wasn’t sure how much longer it would be before he spilt Khan’s blood or vice versa.  
Before either of them could do or say anything though, Jim ran into the room. He was breathing heavily, seemingly having run there from the bridge. Leonard and Khan glanced at each other before quickly looking back at Jim.  
“Is there a reason Marcus hasn’t destroyed us?” Leonard asked.  
“Scotty’s on Marcus’ ship. He managed to buy us some time.”  
“Time for what?” Leonard asked sceptically. Khan raised an eyebrow at him so Leonard turned to Jim with a snarl of “No way! We are not doing something that monumentally stupid!”  
“I haven’t even told you my idea yet,” Jim pouted.  
“I'm guessing it involves a suicidal journey over to Marcus’ ship where you would proceed to try and arrest Marcus.” Jim blinked at him and Leonard knew that he’d got it spot on.  
“Jim…” he began but the younger man cut him off.  
“There’s no other way Bones. And Khan has to come with us.”  
“What?! Why?!”  
“Because I know Marcus’ ship. You will need my guidance,” Khan stated, causing Leonard to glare at him. Khan only smirked in return.  
“Fine. But you put one foot out of line-”  
“And you’ll kill me. I already know.” Khan’s voice was snappish which Leonard took joy in. If the guy could get him all riled up it was only fair if he returned the favour. They stood and glared at each other until Jim finally cleared his throat.  
“Guys…we don’t actually have time for this. You can glare at each other later.”

 

******************************

 

   "I don't like this," Leonard said, staring at the launch door. "I really don't like this."  
"You could always stay behind," Khan said using his falsely sweet tone. Leonard just glared at him as Jim gave a sighed "guys".  
When Spock gave the command, they were fired into the blackness of space, hurtling at breakneck speeds. Leonard kept most of his focus on avoiding debris but he made sure to also keep an eye on both Jim and Khan. He wasn't really worried about Khan getting hurt, like he was with Jim, but he did begrudgingly understand that they needed him to find their way around Marcus' ship. When Spock reported in his ear that Khan's signal had been lost, he paid little attention to it, positive that the augment was actually fine. (He didn't need to analyse why he couldn't contemplate Khan's demise, thank you very much, he just knew Khan's regenerative capabilities, that was all.) Instead he focused on keeping his course and then assisting Jim when the captain's helmet began to crack. He barely spared a thought for Khan reappearing on Jim's other side and giving his own course corrections. All too soon they were in front of the doors - doors that weren't open. Leonard closed his eyes as Jim screamed Scotty's name but the crash didn't come as expected. They flew through the suddenly open doors and skidded to a long halt on the floor, stopping in a roll just at the friendly Scotsman's feet.  
When Leonard ripped his helmet off, his eyes met Khan's. The blue-grey irises were only a thin line around the adrenaline dilated pupils and Leonard was sure that his eyes looked similar. Khan gave him a smug smirk, clearly amused with having him staring into his eyes but Leonard was too pumped to even care and merely grinned back. Khan seemed surprised for only a moment before his mouth twisted into a grin as well. They had always found enjoyment in similar things despite their great differences and Leonard couldn't help the jolt of relieved pleasure that that was still the case. He may have agreed with Khan that neither of them had truly changed but he couldn't help but worry that he had over their many years apart. (And shouldn't that worry him? That he hadn't changed?) Before he could get lost in such reflections, Jim pulled his attention.  
"Well then Khan, time to earn your keep. Take us to Marcus." Khan scowled and opened his mouth, probably to argue over being given a phaser locked in stun mode but Leonard gave him a glare to tell him that he didn't even need a phaser to shut him up, and Khan shut his mouth and simply led the way out of the hangar. Leonard rolled his eyes and followed behind him, leaving Jim to bring up the rear with Scotty between them.  
They stealthily moved through the ship, not coming across anyone until they were halfway to the bridge. Five heavyset men jumped them and Khan and Leonard quickly threw aside their weapons to attack with their fists. They both took on a pair of men, leaving Jim and Scotty to take on the fifth. Leonard didn't pay any attention to Khan and his attackers, knowing that the augment could easily handle them. He was too focused on his own fight. The Reaper was chaffing at the restraints that had been placed on him but for once Leonard was keen to let him loose. It wasn't quite time yet though and Leonard didn't need to go full killer to take out these two hired muscles. He put the men down quickly and turned to see Khan snap the neck of one of his attackers. He wanted to be mad and call him out on the violence but he knew that he hadn't left his guys in much better shape even if they were still breathing. Instead he retrieved his phaser and turned around to check on the other two members of their search party and found both Jim and Scotty staring at him as if they didn't recognise him.  
"And here ends the lie," Khan's voice murmured in his ear from right behind him and, though Leonard hated to agree with him, he had to.


	5. Here the Stars are Brightest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm feeling in a writing mood so you get a flashback chapter as well. Enjoy same McKhan goodness.

_"It is a beautiful night."_  
_The words pulled John away from focusing the gun on the back of the augment's head. Khan was looking up at the sky, the stars shining brightly against the black. John tipped his head, unsure. It seemed like the man - augment, not man. He had to focus on that - was genuinely awed by the sight before him. It was such a human reaction that, combined with Khan's instant trust in following him from the crowded ballroom, it left John confused. All the other augments that he had hunted had acted like the test tube killers that they were. This one though......_  
_Unthinkingly, John holstered his gun and stepped up beside Khan. He was rewarded for the action with another of the dark haired man's shy smiles. This one too didn't fail to send a shiver down his spine but he still refused to show any reaction to Khan's presence._  
_"It is," John agreed. "I don't think the stars are brighter anywhere else in the world."_  
_"Really?" Khan asked eagerly._  
_"They certainly haven't been anywhere else I've been. And I've been to many places." Khan sighed and replied "I would love to see the world."_  
_"I'm sure you will," John said, thinking of how the augments were to be sent as soldiers across the globe._  
_"I am not so sure." John turned his eyes to Khan's face and saw that the young face was pulled into a frown._  
_"Why do you say that?"_  
_"I fear that I am to be stuck forever in places like this, just being paraded around."_  
_It was John's turn to frown now. Did this augment truly not know his purpose?_ Of course he does, _John's thoughts screamed at him,_ Stop making excuses! _John mentally shook his head. He needed to focus, not get attached, no matter how pretty and innocent the man beside him seemed._  
_"I am sorry," Khan said suddenly, forcing a smile. "I do not mean to bore you with such talk."_  
_"It's fine," John murmured and carefully moved his hand to touch Khan's resting on the balcony rail. "I'd love to hear more of your thoughts." Khan looked at their touching hands, a blush creeping up onto his cheeks again but it didn't stop his mouth turning up into a sweet smile which he aimed at John._  
_"I would love to hear more of your thoughts also." Their heads were now mere millimetres apart, and John was shocked to note that their breathes had become in synced._  
_"John..." Khan's voice was soft and breathy while his eyes were both shy but hopeful. John allowed this to cloud his judgement and brought his lips down on Khan's. The kiss was slow and closed-mouthed but there was a flicker of fire to it that prevented John from regaining common sense and stopping. He wrapped his arms around Khan's waist and felt Khan's arms lift and settle around his neck. When Khan let out a little moan of pleasure, John gently pulled away but only so far as to see Khan's face. The enchanting blue-grey eyes were closed and a look of pure bliss consumed his face, which still held a light blush._  
_"I did not know it would feel like that," Khan whispered._  
_"What?" John asked, his voice just as low._  
_"A kiss." Khan breathed the word and opened his eyes to look right into John's._  
_"They don't always feel like that."_  
_"How many have you had feel like that?"_  
_"None," John admitted and when Khan's face lit up joyously, he could only smile gently. They stayed together like that, just enjoying the afterglow of the kiss until John's thoughts pounded too heavily against his head to be ignored any longer._  
_John pulled away slowly, taking Khan's arms from around his neck and stepping backwards but without releasing the augment's hands. Khan tilted his head as a look of confusion crossed his face and John found himself kissing those pale, elegant hands in contrition._  
_"I'm sorry, but I have to leave."_  
_"Oh." Just one word and Khan's whole just demeanour fell. It made guilt start to twist inside of John but he fought it down to focus back on his mission. Besides, he was actually going to walk away and leave this augment alive. It went against all he stood for and he knew that it would come back to haunt him but right now he just didn't have the strength to end the life of the young man before him._  
_"I will always remember tonight and whenever I look at the stars, I will think of you." John wasn't sure where these words were coming from but they seemed to please Khan and allow him to pull his hands away completely._  
_"And so will I. Maybe we will cross paths again and we can see if any kisses compare to that one," Khan said boldly then blushed brightly and dropped his head. John smiled; it seemed like it would take many more kisses before Khan lost his innocence._ Or killing a few humans, _a vindictive voice reminded John, and he quickly burned all thoughts of meeting Khan again from his mind. If they did meet again, John would kill him._  
_"Farewell Khan," John said pleasantly, his voice still soft as he walked away._  
_"Farewell....John"_

 

    ********************************** 

 

  _Five augments were later found dead, a shot to each of their heads and their hearts. Khan was concerned about just how close his family's hunter had been that night and could not help but feel grateful for John. Who knew? If John had not taken him onto the balcony and then left him there to think about their incredible kiss all night, he might have been one of the dead._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It will never be this cute again. Never.  
> Just warning you.


	6. Falling into the Past

Turning around a corner, Leonard suddenly realised that Jim and Scotty weren't right behind them. Grabbing Khan's arm, he said "hold up," and focused his hearing. "They're at the last bend. We wait here for them." Khan huffed and pulled his arm from Leonard's grip but he didn't make any other protest. They stood silently, the air between them tense. Leonard tried to keep his focus on listening to where Jim and Scotty were but his eyes kept trying to slide back to Khan. He tried to write it off as strategic, an 'I'm checking on my enemy's location' kind of thing, but he knew it wasn't true. He had been drawn to Khan from the first meeting, pulled in by wonderfully open eyes and a shy smile. But those things didn't exist any more; hadn't existed except in that one moment, that one night. The eyes were now hard and closed and smiles were unimaginable on such a cruel mouth. Leonard just wished that these things meant Khan was any less beautiful. He sighed and once again cursed his new inability to focus. This was all Khan's fault - if he hadn't shown up again after so long, Leonard would not be losing control of himself like this.

Khan noticed that Leonard kept glancing over at him and he found himself having to fight the nonsensical need to blush. **He** did not **blush**. He was an augment, one of the most fearsome to have ever existed. But Leonard looked exactly as he had in that ballroom, minus the suit, though the black shirt and combat boots (Khan had never known Reaper not to wear to them) were not unattractive. In fact, they only emphasised just how dangerous he knew this man to be. Khan sighed mentally and then spoke before the logical part of his brain even realised that there were words waiting.  
"The first thing I did when I awoke from cryo was look at the stars."  
The words hung in the air like ice crystals before smashing on the floor.  
"Wh-what?" Leonard's voice was weak and Khan knew that he had never heard the man stutter before. He wanted to take the words back but it was too late now. He pointedly did not look away from the wall in front of him and tried to figure out how he was meant to continue.  
"Khan? Please."  
Leonard's hand was back on his arm and gently tugging him around, forcing his eyes to leave the wall and meet questioning hazel. Even after so long, those eyes hadn't changed. Blue and green bled into each other, surrounded by a ring of brown and speckled with golden flecks. They were ancient and had seen too much but still they burned with an untouched fire; one made of anger, passion and determination. Khan had never been able to lie to those eyes, even when he had wanted to do nothing else.  
"My first thought on waking...was of you," Khan said, voice low but honest. Leonard only stared at him, eyes wide but not disbelieving. "I wondered what had become of you after so many years apart. I did not know if you had been hunted down by the very race you chose to protect. There was no one there you could be honest about yourself with so how could you cope alone for centuries? I...I wanted...needed to see you, to know that one thing was still the same, even if it was your hatred. But I had no idea how to go about it. I knew that you would have deeply hidden yourself but I also knew that any enquires into you I made would put you at risk. So I just kept looking at the stars and hoping that you were well."  
Neither said anything after Khan's speech and soon Jim and Scotty's footsteps could be heard with average hearing. Just before the last two members of their mission joined them, Leonard spoke.  
"When the federation was formed, I wanted to steal a ship and go find you."

 

  ************************************

 

When Scotty stunned Khan, Leonard clenched his jaw to stop from yelling. The Reaper was roaring inside of him, demanding retribution for his enemy. It left Leonard confused, torn between knowing that trusting Khan rarely worked out, and hating that they were the first to cause betrayal. He stepped closer to Marcus, training his phaser on the admiral and barely noticing as Carol stepped between Scotty and Marcus, drawing the engineer's attention. What happened next was a blur of movement and instinct. He heard the shouts of Jim and Scotty, the scream of Carol as her leg was snapped but his focus was centred on Khan, whose arms he was now gripping in a bone breaking hold in an attempt to stop him from killing Marcus.  
"Khan," he tried to reason but then the augment's leg was around his, spinning him and pulling him to the floor. Hands that he had watched crush skulls wrapped around his throat and though he tried to buck the augment off of him, he couldn't break their grip. So he slipped his leg between Khan's and brought his knee up into his groin. There was a grunt and the hands loosened a fraction but it was enough. Leonard rolled away and the Reaper stood up.

Khan could tell the instant that his enemy had switched personas. Leonard had been by his side up until this moment but the doctor wasn't standing before him now. He was facing Reaper, a growling feral beast that wouldn't hesitate to rip his spine out. He had done it before after all. The augment felt a vicious grin spread out across his face and was not surprised when the look was mirrored by Reaper. He forgot momentarily about killing Marcus; that pathetic human could wait, this was what he truly wanted. A fight between equals.  
"Just like old times," he said.  
"You best be prepared to die then," Reaper replied.


	7. Two Fights But No Ending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING:  
> So I've added the Graphic Violence tag just for precautions sake because Khan gets a bit...intense (poor baby).

_John coughed, a bubble of blood bursting at the corner of his mouth and running down his chin. His arms ached from being chained so far above his head while his legs were weighted down, keeping his entire body taut._  
_"Are you ready to talk now?"_  
_"Fuck off," he spat, voice hoarse but still harsh._  
_Khan looked at him with clear disappointment but John could see the anger glimmering below the surface. He couldn't keep the smug smirk from his face and was even more pleased when this caused Khan to actually scowl._  
_"You will tell me what I want to know! You won't hold out forever!" Khan snarled._  
_"I don't need to hold out forever, I just need the time to break out of these chains," John replied calmly, before there were two loud snaps. The first was the chain around his wrists snapping as he twisted his bones back into proper alignment. The second, was Khan's neck. The augment's body dropped to the floor, eyes wide with understanding that came a second too late. John quickly removed the weights from his legs and crouched before the body. He knew what he should do. He should take his knife from the table in the corner of Khan's former interrogation room and cut off the bastard's head._  
_"Fuck you!" He spat at the body again instead, and left the room, grabbing his knife and other possessions from the table as he left._  
_He easily snuck out of the facility, the augments not exactly on high alert what with believing themselves to be unstoppable. Maybe that thought was a little uncharitable; after all, Khan knew to fear him even if he didn't know precisely what he was._ Why should you be charitable? _a nagging voice in his mind demanded of him._ These...monsters...are our enemy. We must destroy them all so stop being soft on them!  
'But I'm not being soft,' _John thought back._ 'I just can't seem to stop sparing this one.'  
_He sighed, tired of all the arguments his head kept having. It was easier to just remain Reaper, and tear apart every augment he met. But that plan still had flaws. Reaper was just as attached to Khan as John was, never fully finishing the handsome brunette off but leaving him for another fight. And it really didn't help that Khan seemed unable to kill him too. He understood that the first time it probably came as a shock to find that stabbing the knife through his heart and leaving him to bleed out hadn't worked, but he would have thought that after, God, two years now, the augment would have realised what he needed to do! Khan wasn't stupid, far from it in fact, and he wasn't unused to violence, loved it even. So why could neither of them end the other? The word_ addiction _flittered through his brain and brought him back to another thought._  
These monsters are our enemy.  
_But hadn't he considered himself to be a monster at times? He and Khan were practically the same, apart from the need to rule the world and enslave all others. But there had been men that wanted to do that too but were far less dangerous than him and Khan. Could that goal, that had been chased by so many, truly be all that was keeping Khan rated as a monster and he as not?_  
_John shook all these thoughts off. He had no need to be so introspective. He would pack up his base here and move on, finding another country to free from oppressive augments. If he ran into Khan again, and he instantly squished the hope that he would, they would fight and one would kill the other, then the cycle would repeat. It was far better to just accept how it was turning out. And ignore all worries about how cycles always end._

 

   ***************************************************  
  

_Khan ducked the punch and threw out his leg, pleased when it caught bone and shattered it. Reaper fell to one knee but still easily blocked the next punch, catching the wrist and flinging Khan over his shoulder. Khan spat out the blood that had pooled in his mouth from his split lip then threw himself at Reaper, who with his broken leg was just too slow to stop him. Khan landed on the enhanced man's chest, feeling ribs bend and splinter under his weight. He quickly wrapped his hands around the windpipe in front of him, wanting to squeeze all life from the body below him. The body thrashed, and Reaper kept punching at his sides to try and force him to loosen his hold but Khan stayed firm. Up until the knife slid between two of his ribs._  
_He gasped in pain and lifted one hand from his hold on Reaper's neck to pull the blade out. It allowed Reaper the chance to tightly grab the remaining hand at his throat with both hands and lift it away and break it but that only fuelled Khan's anger and he slashed the knife across the man's throat. Blood began pouring from the wound and Reaper was left gasping for breath._  
_The sight did not calm the augment though, and he began stabbing the chest over and over. He hardly noticed as Reaper stopped breathing and the blood just pooled around the two of them. But soon his anger gave way, and he collapsed on the chest before him, dropping the knife as tears streamed down his face and mingled with the blood covering him. Khan curled his hands into Reaper's ruined shirt and just lay there, head on the man's chest, trying to stop crying and trying to breathe evenly so that he could listen to the faintest of sounds._  
_Time passed slowly as he waited to hear a heart begin to beat again and the tears would not stop._  
_Finally, after it seemed an age had passed, there was a solid thump from beneath his ear, followed slowly by another, and then another. Khan finally stood up, watching the holes in the chest from his stabbing close up. When he saw the slice on Reaper's throat too begin to heal, he turned and walked away. His enemy would heal quickly now, he need not watch and protect the body any longer. He would be far away by the time John woke up, body slightly sore but that ache too would fade quickly. He doubted that John would even notice the tears on his face and if he did, would probably assume they were his own from pain. Even if the Reaper had never cried from pain, why would he ever assume them to be Khan's?_


	8. Two Animals in a Cage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't a very long chapter but I really just wanted it to be the fight scene and nothing else and I didn't have the words or motivation to make it longer.

They threw themselves at each other, power and bloodlust rushing through their entire beings. They were feral; clawing, snarling, biting, but they were also trained killers; skilled punches, smooth kicks, graceful movements. They paid no attention to the weak bodies around them, focused only on each other.   
Reaper pounced on Khan, knocking both of them off their feet and forcing the augment to smash into the main control table. Reaper followed with a swift kick to his solar plexus, which knocked him right over the table onto the floor on the other side. Khan rolled and came up just as Reaper jumped over the table to get to him and managed to grab the enhanced man, flipping him over his shoulder and into the floor. There was a snarl from Reaper, who lashed out with his feet and brought Khan back down to the floor with him. Khan went to roll away but Reaper ended up on his chest, trapping the augment's hands above his head with one wrist and keeping his weight down to stop the bucking movements that were trying to throw him off.   
Khan thrashed, bringing his legs up to knee Reaper in the back but it wasn't working. Reaper merely hooked his own feet around the augment's thighs to hold them down. With his free hand he reached for the knife strapped into his boot. Khan's eyes widened when he saw the knife and he used used all his strength to rip his wrists free from the tight grip and smash his hands down on Reaper's head. The ex-marine let out a howl and jumped away from the hands that were trying to now take the knife from him. He swung the blade and was pleased to see it come back with blood on it. He looked up, mouth turned up in a vicious smile that was stained red by a cut on his lip that had already healed. Khan too had blood on his face and there was the hint of a bruise around one eye but, even as Reaper watched, it faded away. Khan leapt forward to once again reach for the knife but Reaper ducked under his outstretched arms and plunged the weapon into the augment's chest. He had been aiming for the heart yet Khan twisted at the last second so instead it sunk under the first rib and he lost ahold of it. Khan yelled in pain and wrenched the bloody blade out before moving in on Reaper.  
They tussled to and fro, the knife constantly changing hands, and cuts opening up and healing again over both their bodies. Bones were snapped one way and then pushed back the other way, neither caring about breaking themselves as long as the other broke too. Blood dripped from both of them, making the floor of the bridge slippery as they fought across the entire space. They didn't notice the other people in the room until Reaper let out an animalistic shriek as fire burned across his back despite Khan standing before him. He dropped to his knees, his eyes screwed up tight in pain as his body stopped the hole in his back from expanding and then preceded to weave tissue and flesh back together to fill the space.  
Khan had lifted his gaze up as Reaper dropped to the floor and saw Marcus standing there, phaser set to kill and still pointed at Reaper. He leapt over his forming opponent and knocked the gun from the admiral's hand. The human had less than a minute to look fearfully up at Khan, before his head was crashed between two pale, blood covered hands.  
"No!" Reaper shouted, healed and turning around just in time to see Khan kill Marcus. He swept Khan's feet out from under him, bringing the augment down hard. He stabbed the knife into the thigh closest to him to stop Khan from moving away, then lunged forwards to wrap his hands around the waiting throat. Khan threw solid punches at him but he didn't let them distract him. He had wanted to squeeze all the life out of the augment since he saw him standing smugly in the _Enterprise_ brig, and now he was going to. He was so focused that he lost track of Khan's hands and so didn't realise that the augment had freed the knife until it was sitting in his heart. He gave out a shuddering gasp and looked down into those blue-grey eyes. They were frigid in their fury, just as they had been every time they fought, and that made him smile.  
"Good shot," he murmured, voice only comprehensible to enhanced ears. "But not good enough," he added, before using his remaining strength to twist the neck still in his grasp. The cervical vertebrae snapped and Khan's eyes went dark as life left them. Not able to keep himself upright any longer, Reaper fell forwards, just managing to turn his body so the knife wasn't pushed in further. He lay atop Khan's chest and closed his eyes, ignoring the shouts of Jim and Scotty just now filtering in, in favour of welcoming blackness. It had been a century since he last lost consciousness and the medical mind of Leonard McCoy was curious as to whether the sensation had changed.   
It hadn't.


	9. The One Mistake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I refuse to admit that this is in any way cute or sweet because if I do I will have to burn it.  
> BotanyCameos, you can have this chapter because I want nothing to do with it.

_Khan groaned softly as morning light filtered through the windows and onto his face. He sat up, letting the bed covers fall from his body and pool around his waist. He stretched, just enjoying the sensation of waking up, feeling that pleasurable in a way he never had before._  
 _He stopped stretching, his body frozen with his arms above his head._  
 _His bare arms._  
 _To match his bare chest._  
 _He did not shriek, though he desperately wanted to, instead let his body fall heavily back onto the bed and threw his hands over his face, hiding himself from the light and the memories of last night that were now blossoming in his mind. The only coherent thought in his head was_ **You are such a fucking idiot!**  
 _He turned over, wanting to hide himself in his pillow, but in doing so he caught sight of the bedside table. And the innocent red rose sitting upon it._  
Innocent! _his mind screamed._ That...that... **thing**...is far from innocent. _Khan wanted to agree but he knew that he was partially to blame. As was John._  
 _And it had defiantly been John and not Reaper in this bed with him last night, tracing his body with lips, teeth and tongue. Whispering words he had wanted...had craved since a starlit balcony so long ago._  
 _Khan groaned again, this time not in pleasure - and he stopped all thoughts there before he drove himself mad. He was split and had no idea which route to follow. Part of him wanted to pick up the rose and cry; another part wanted to hide back under the covers and pretend that waking up was just a dream and that he was actually still lying in John's arms; and opposite that was a part that wanted the night before to all have been some wondrous nightmare. The largest part of his mind wanted to go after John but, instead of being that simple, it then too split - into what it wanted to do when he found John. It was currently presenting him with five options: kiss him, kill him, kiss him then kill him, kill him then wait for him to revive before kissing him, and, thank him for the rose before demanding breakfast._  
 _It was that last one that made him sure that he was officially defective and should seek immediate medical attention. Unfortunately, the only person he could even think to go to was his fellow augment José but he would not be impressed to find out that Khan had been playing a violent game of cat and mouse with the renowned 'Augment Killer' for the past few years, and would be even less impressed to find that he had slept with said killer.  
He groaned again and buried his head in his pillow, pulling the covers up over his head. A minute later, he reached out a hand and pulled the rose under with him. He did not care if last night had been a huge mistake and would never happen again. He was only happy that it had and that he had not been left completely alone this morning._


	10. This is Our Story

He heard the beeping of the bio-bed beneath him first, then the other sounds that always seemed to fill his sickbay; the gossip of the nurses, the almost imperceptible whir of tricorders and other medical devices, and the grunts, moans and whining of patients. He smiled to himself and opened his eyes. Sure enough, the white ceiling of sickbay was above him and he could see M'Benga and Christine out of the corner of his eye talking quietly to Jim and Spock. Not bothering to listen in to their conversation, he used the reprieve from their attention to subtly look around the room. Carol was out in the bed next to him, her leg being fixed by an osteo-regenerator and Scotty was sitting beside her, dozing steadily. There was no sign of Khan though and that made him sit up quickly, ignoring his friends hurrying towards him as he scanned the room throughly. Jim and M'Benga both looked like they were about to speak but he beat them to it.  
"Where's Khan?"  
Jim and Spock exchanged concerned looks (or as concerned as a Vulcan can look) while Christine and M'Benga moved closer to him to check his readings on the bi-bed and run a tricorder over him. He brushed them aside and swung his legs off the bed.  
"Leonard..." M'Benga tried to get him to sit back down but he wasn't in the mood to indulge him.  
"Look, I'm fine, completely and utterly fine-"  
"Yes, and I'd like to know how," M'Benga interrupted, voice more assertive than Leonard had ever heard it.  
" **But** ," Leonard said, ignoring him and still addressing Jim, "I need to know where Khan is. Has he woken up yet?"  
"You snapped his neck," Jim whispered, his voice almost pained and his eyes not quite meeting Leonard's.  
"I know that," he replied irritably. "So is he awake yet or not?" They just did not seem to understand his urgency, and if he was calmer he would forgive them for it as they didn't have the history with Khan that he did, but right now he just wanted his question answered. They shared uncertain glances until Spock spoke, the only one seeming to pick up his irritation. _Well of course the telepath gets it._  
"Doctor, the captain is only stating that in our capacity of understanding, Khan is dead. Are you telling us that is not the case?"  
"Well do I look dead to you?" he asked, trying to hold back on the sarcasm but knowing he failed.  
"No," Spock answered, "but that is a miracle in its self."  
"Since when do you believe in miracles?" Leonard asked disbelievingly. Spock raised an eyebrow and answered so calmly that Leonard almost didn't take in his meaning.  
"Since someone I consider a friend was harmed beyond repair and yet breathes."  
When the words sunk in, Leonard hung his head, touched.  
"Take me to Khan and I'll tell you everything," he negotiated quietly, looking up at the Vulcan through his lashes. Spock nodded and picked up the pile of clothes from the empty chair beside his bed and handed them to him.  
"Get dressed and we will go."  

 

   ***************************************************  
  

Khan's body was lying on the floor of the cell he had been kept in before. He was still but for the slow rise and fall of his chest. Leonard watched him impassively while both Jim and M'Benga's jaws were dropped incredulously, and even Spock had both eyebrows raised.  
"How?" Jim asked, finally turning away from the newly breathing augment and facing Leonard. "Bones...what is going on?"  
Leonard sighed, eyes never leaving Khan. "It's a long story."  
"We have time now that we don't need to rush back to Earth. Just start from the beginning," Jim said, as if it was that simple.  
"The beginning?" Leonard murmured. "The beginning was a long time ago. It didn't even start on Earth."  
"Then where did it start?" He wasn't sure which of them asked the question as he fell into his memories but he answered all the same.  
"Mars."  

What came next was a tale of a childhood on an alien planet, severed by the grief of losing ones parents. Then came the stories of the marines and finally finding a place that was almost home with the RRTS: Sarge, Duke, Destroyer, Goat, Portman, Mac and, eventually, the Kid. He spoke of John Grimm losing himself at times to Reaper. And how everything ended when the call came in that the Martian research facility was under attack. The uncontrollable fear that had flooded him at seeing Samantha, his incredible twin who had always seemed to have her life under control, standing there on the other side of the ARC. He knew his voice went flat and cold as he spoke about the horrors that occurred on the base but it was the only way he knew how to without breaking down. It may have been centuries ago but the pain still burned inside. When it came to speaking about dying the first time he had to stop. He took a couple of deep breaths and fixed his focus on Khan. The augment seemed to have become more rigid and Leonard realised it was because he had finally come round but didn't want to bring attention to the fact. Khan was letting him speak, knowing how much it took him to get it all out. After all, Khan had sat through the first and only time time that he spoken about his past in full. Leonard took comfort in the augment's silent presence and continued, describing in detail the rush to find Sam and then the fight with Sarge that never seemed to end because of their matched enhanced strengths. He spoke of carrying Sam all the way to surgery for her leg and then running; running and never looking back.  
"You just left her there? Did you ever contact her?" Jim's voice penetrated that cloud that had covered Leonard's mind.  
"I sent her a birthday card every year, anonymously of course, to let her know I was alive. But I only saw her one more time before she died. It was safer that way."  
"There were people after you?" Spock asked next.  
"Yeah. The UAC, the company that had owned the Mars base, were still working on super soldier experiments. If they found any evidence I was alive..." He left that thought hanging. They could all work out what would have become of him.  
"Where does Khan come into this?" Jim asked, the question that Leonard had been waiting for.  
"The UAC were the ones who created the augments."  
"You kept track of their work, though I'm sure they were unaware." It was M'Benga that made the leap and Leonard nodded at him.  
"It doesn't really explain why you seem so close," Jim argued, his voice taking on that almost whiny quality that Leonard remembered from the academy days when Jim hadn't known something but desperately wanted all the information. Leonard chuckled and continued his story. How the Reaper took control most of the time, and travelled across the world killing augments, knowing that even if they didn't mutate that they would threaten the human race, UAC just too stupid to realise it. He paused as John Grimm walked into a high class ballroom, looking for new targets. Jim, Spock and M'Benga all looked at him encouragingly, wanting to know what happened next, but he wasn't sure he could tell them. It suddenly seemed so personal. Luckily, someone else spoke for him.  
"I asked him to dance."  
The others all spun to look at Khan who was now reclining against the glass. He looked so composed but all his focus was on Leonard, who knew that the augment was just as affected as he was.  
"It seemed like a good idea at the time," Khan continued with a smile. Leonard couldn't help but smile back, though his was more pained.  
"It saved your life," he admitted, the first time he had done so since the scene in discussion happened.  
"I know," Khan replied, tone grave but understanding. The others looked between them, seeming to realise that this was a private moment for the both of them. Unfortunately ( _or perhaps not,_ Leonard thought) Jim wasn't known for his patience and was especially bad when it came to privacy.  
"So you danced and then you just became enemies? Was it that bad?"  
"Not in the slightest," Leonard answered without thinking. Khan raised an eyebrow in surprise but nodded once in agreement. "And we were already enemies. We just didn't know it. Or rather Khan didn't. I figured out what he was quickly, but there was no way for him to do the same."  
"The Augment Killer was little more than rumour. He was practically a ghost," Khan stated. "At the time I silently thanked John for distracting me. For all I knew, it could have been me rather than one of my brethren that was killed that night. It was not until later that I realised my mistake; that keeping the company of John had been far more dangerous than loitering in the ballroom. Once I too realised that we were enemies, our war began."  
"War?" Spock asked, raised eyebrow telling Leonard that he didn't understand Khan's meaning.  
"We began a war against each other," he explained. "We never involved anyone else."  
"Wouldn't it have been in your best interest to tell the other augments that you knew who was killing them?" Jim asked Khan, clearly finding his past silence ridiculous. Leonard had never thought that way though, and he answered in Khan's stead.  
"It was between us. It didn't concern anyone else. Besides, if they couldn't defend themselves they were clearly weak." He was aware that that last sentence was all Reaper and looked to Khan for his reaction but the augment only twisted his face into the briefest of scowls before settling back into composure.  
"So you just kept fighting?" Jim asked for confirmation.  
"Until the few remaining augments left the planet, yes, that is exactly what we did." The words made it sound like it had been so simple but Leonard and Khan knew better. It had never been simple. They had fought viciously but there were times of peace; times when they had realised that they were practically soulmates they were so similar and in-sync. Those times never lasted though, not that they'd ever really tried. They both knew that instead of trying to pursue peace, they had fled as quickly as it started so as not to ruin it. Ironically, the actions they took to keep peace were actually the ones that ended it.  
"So that's it?" Jim asked, almost unable to believe everything that he had just been told. "That's the end of your story?"  
"Yes. That's it."


	11. A Familiar Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything keeps being sweet! Someone make it stop!

_They stood side by side on top of the hill, staring down at the oblivious little family below them. John smiled as he saw how happy Sam was and he felt proud that she had managed to gain a normal life, with the white picket fence, helpful husband and a gorgeous little girl with another child on the way. He spent several minutes just watching the miniature version of his sister, blonde hair flying as she raced around with her parents, picnic momentarily forgotten._  
_"Thank you," he said turning to the handsome man beside him. "Thank you so much for helping me save them."_  
_"Family is important," Khan said simply._  
_"And yet you saved mine when I've been hunting yours," John argued, not really sure why but knowing that it would help him understand the augment's recent actions._  
_"You hunt augments. Yet you have not touched one that I have marked as true family," Khan explained, eyes not leaving the sight of John's family._  
_"I suppose so," John agreed, turning back to the sight. They stayed silent, just enjoying the company as they watched Samantha Grimm and her family walk back down the lane to their sweet country home._  
_"Come along now," Khan said firmly, taking John's hand and leading him away as well. John let him. He wasn't sure if he would have been able to do it on his own, entranced as he was by the first sight of his sister in years. He just let Khan take him back to the little cottage they had acquired for easy surveillance on his remaining family and didn't really react until Khan was pushing him down onto the bed._  
_"What are you doing?" he asked, sitting up straight and taking hold of Khan's hands which were resting on his chest. Khan only sighed and shoved him down harder, John falling back against his will but scowling all the way._  
_"Do you really want me to stop?" Khan asked, though his voice wasn't as harsh as the words suggested. After less than a seconds thought, John shook his head. He didn't want Khan to stop; he needed this too bad, he needed **him** too bad._  
_"When did you get so controlling in bed?" he asked instead, voice teasing. Khan only smirked._  
_"Wouldn't you like to know." John flipped them suddenly, trapping Khan beneath him and though the augment only shook his head, John could see the slight rush of colour to his cheeks._  
_"Now there's that virginal blush," he smiled, stroking the coloured cheeks._  
_"I'm not a virgin, as you well know," Khan said huffily, clearly not impressed or pleased that John had such power over him._  
_"Do I?" he asked innocently._  
_"Well considering you are my first and-" Khan cut himself off instantly, the blush rising on his cheeks to a rose hue that John had never tempted out of them before. He frowned then realised what Khan wasn't keen for him to hear._  
_"Are you saying," he asked incredulously, "that I'm your first...and only?" Khan didn't answer but John could see the answer in his eyes anyway. He slumped in shock, forgetting that he was straddling Khan. The augment was not pleased and quickly took control again. Pulling the same move John had earlier, he flipped them over again so that John was now below him._  
_"Get over it John. So I have not been with anyone else since we met. Neither have you." The words were snapped out and John....well, John couldn't disagree. He had tried to tell himself that he was simply too busy to seek relief from anyone else but the truth was, he wasn't looking. His body had seemed to decide that it only needed Khan, even though it wasn't a sure thing. They were mortal enemies after all. It just turned out that they were exclusive mortal enemies._  
_"Okay," he said simply._  
_"Okay?" Khan asked, a small frown working its way onto his face._  
_"Okay," John said with a smile. "We're exclusive. I mean, I already knew that that was true when it came to getting killed - you know, only I'm allowed to kill you and visa versa. It just expands to sex now as well."_  
_"And you are okay with that?" Khan was still frowning but John could sense his hidden uncertainty. It made him ridiculously pleased that only he knew all of Khan's depths, that he couldn't even begrudge the augment for knowing all of his._  
_"Now that's cleared up," he stated, and flipped Khan again. "Let's get on with this. I believe you were going to distract me."_  
_"Trust me," Khan said, reaching up to pull him down into a passionate and mind-blowing kiss. "I will do far more than that."_

 

   ***************************************************  
  

_Waking up hours later, completely sated, John smiled at the sight before him. Curled up in his arms, still fast asleep and looking more peaceful and relaxed than he'd ever seen him, was Khan. John stroked his hair gently, pressing kisses to the soft tresses occasionally._  
_"If you keep doing that, you are going to wake me up," the augment murmured, voice heavy with sleep._  
_"Sorry," John said, still smiling and going to move his hand away._  
_"I did not tell you to stop."_  
_John's smile grew into a smug grin and he once again began to stroke the augment. Khan turned to look over his shoulder, eyes glinting with mirth though he tried to speak scoldingly._  
_" **That** is not my hair."_  
_"Do you want me to stop now?" John asked cheekily. Khan didn't answer verbally._    


	12. Once We Were and Now We Are Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it has been a long long time but please don't be mad. I've been busy with uni and had writer's block but now I'm good and we'll see what happens. It would probably help if I knew where I was going with this now.

Khan opened his eyes, sleep over as soon as his sensitive ears picked up the sound of footsteps. _The captain_ , Khan thought, sitting up to rest against the wall of his cell. He could not be bothered to stand, especially seeing as he was not impressed with being just left in here. Once Leonard and he had finished speaking, there had been silence while their audience had tried to process all that they had been told. The doctor, M’Benga Khan believed he was called, had seemed to accept what he had been told first, though the augment was sure that that was because he was repressing the knowledge of his superior officer’s former life under the chance to study both Leonard and Khan’s blood. The man had hurried away, muttering about patients and cell counts. The captain and his first officer had both been more shocked, staring at Leonard (though the Vulcan had done so in a much more composed manner), who had only rolled his eyes at them. When they had finally finished staring, and the captain had closed his mouth, Kirk had sent Spock back up to watch the bridge for the last 10 minutes of Alpha shift and then proceeded to drag Leonard away for some reason or other. To be fair to his immortal counterpart, Leonard had tried to get Khan released from the brig. He knew that the augment was not a threat now that his enemy had been vanquished and his family was safe. Kirk had not listened though. He had just pursed his lips and sent a glare at Khan before leaving, Leonard following in his wake after shooting Khan a look of reassurance. Remembering that look suddenly made Khan focus on the sound of the captain’s footsteps – there was another set beneath them, a much quieter, almost imperceptible set. _Leonard_.  
And sure enough, when Kirk appeared, so did Leonard. The captain did not look too pleased but there was a smirk hidden in Leonard’s eyes. Khan did not bother to hide his. (It was very gratifying to watch Kirk grit his teeth like that.)  
“Come to let me out?” he asked, voice innocently irritating and making Kirk growl.  
“Khan…” Leonard scolded so he gave an almost apologetic shrug.  
“Yes,” Kirk said grudgingly. “Bones has argued in your favour, for I don’t know what reason, so you’re going to be let out. **BUT** , you are going to be under Bones’ supervision constantly and as soon as we reach Earth you will be pulled up before the Federation and you will answer for your crimes.”  
"My _crimes_ have been in defence of my life and those of my family's. You would have acted no differently if it was your precious crew on the line," Khan stated harshly, knowing he was right, and knowing the captain did too from the scowl that enveloped his face. Khan only shrugged at the look and turned his attention to Leonard.  
"Going to give me the speech again?" he asked cheekily.  
"Why? Do you need to hear it again?" Leonard quipped back. Khan knew that Kirk was giving them weird looks, uncertain about their camaraderie. _It makes sense that he would be confused_ , Khan thought, _it is not as if we gave them the full story._ He let a smirk settle on his face as he waited for Kirk to input the code to let him out of the cell. The captain seemed in no rush though. He just stood there, staring between the augment and his friend, obviously trying to work out what he was missing.  
"Jim..." Leonard called gently. "You gonna let him out?"  
"What am I missing?"  
"What?" Leonard asked, frowning at his friend.  
"What am I missing?" Kirk repeated. "You gave this long story about how you were enemies and yet you keep joking around like the best of friends. So **what** am I missing?" Silence was his answer until Khan decided to humour him with a half truth.  
"You know what they say, Captain; keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I will always know him better than you could ever hope to. 1: Because I have decades more experience, and with his true personality. 2. Because we are same, no matter how much he tries to deny it. You saw that earlier on Marcus' ship. And 3." Khan stood up now, advancing on the glass with a smug and vicious smirk that had Kirk backing up. "Because I know all his darkest secrets and he knows mine in return."  
Kirk gulped, Adam's apple bobbing as he tried to straighten up before the augment but Khan could see how he struggled to.  
"Let him out Jim."  
Leonard's voice was quiet but had the desired effect. Khan pulled back from his prey, allowing Kirk to take back the control he had clearly lost. The blonde man punched in the code, keeping his eyes averted from the cell's occupant but refusing to look at the floor. Khan gave him points for that. Leonard placed his hand on Khan's arm and drew him away, not sparing a glance for his captain as they walked past and out of the brig. Khan knew better than to speak before they reached their destination so he followed the brunette in silence.  
As they walked through the ship the crew stared, and Khan took pleasure from the fear in their eyes. From his study of the _Enterprise_ 's layout while under Marcus' control, he deduced that they were headed toward Sickbay, and thus Leonard's quarters. He kept up the silence as Leonard unlocked his door and invited him in. Even when the door closed behind Leonard, he chose not to speak, just watching as the equally silent man circled him, stopping so they were looking each other right in the eyes.  
He did not know what he expected from the other enhanced so he was pleasantly surprised and yet very willing to reciprocate when warm hands found his cheeks, dragging him closer, and a talented tongue invaded his mouth. He nipped at the lips touching his, while his hands grasped possessively at the hips before him. They stayed locked in their embrace for several minutes, neither wanting to lose contact with the other and both knowing they could hold their breath longer.  
"I should be so mad at you for saying those things to Jim," Leonard panted when they finally pulled apart. "But all I can think of is how I loved hearing you say them."  
"I would say them over and over for you," Khan promised, pulling the other back in for another kiss.  
"Let me have you," he breathed against Leonard's lips as they once more pulled apart.  
"Only if you blush for me," Leonard said, words teasing but eyes begging. Khan smiled and replied "I am sure you can make me."  
They kissed passionately again then Khan allowed Leonard to drag him into his bedroom. The setting for their reunion may have been vastly different than either suspected, but despite the distance and the years, their bodies knew each other perfectly, as if they had never parted.


	13. The End of Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not a chapter but a scene at the end of, as the title says, Chapter 12. However, I didn't want to actually end on this scene as it changed the mood.

A long time after, Leonard turned to Khan.  
"You do realise that there have been others...since you left."  
Khan sighed, though it was clearly out of exasperation which made Leonard scowl.  
"Obviously. It has been 300 years, Leonard. I did not expect you to stay celibate until your mortal enemy's possible return." Khan huffed, as if Leonard was a child that he couldn't be bothered to explain simple things to.  
"And what of you?" Leonard asked, not happy about being treated as a child. Khan sighed again, and he too turned so that they were face to face.  
"I have been in cryo for centuries and then I was busy working for a war-crazed human. I did have the time nor the inclination to think about such things."  
"If you hadn't been taken by Marcus?" He didn't know why he was pushing it but felt that he had to know. Khan's frown showed that he was actually thinking about the answer though. His voice, when he answered, was hesitant, as if he was unsure on how he came about the answer.  
"If there was no Marcus...I would have searched for you. Nothing else would have crossed my mind."  
"So you'd still be mine alone?"  
"Yes." The word felt like an oath and that made Leonard freeze.  
"Does it not bother you...that you can never say the same for me?"  
Khan only smiled gently at the question, and took Leonard's face into his hands.  
"You will never be anyone's but mine. It does not matter how many others share your bed. As I told Kirk, no one will know you as I do. Thus, you can never be anyone else's."  
The answer made Leonard smile and he curled into the augment's chest, feeling secure and perfectly at home for the first time in centuries as strong arms wrapped around him in turn.  
"Beside," Khan added, his voice turning smug, "I have never shared you before and do not plan to now I am back. I will easily kill anyone who attempts to get between us."  
Leonard let out a huff of laughter. He wouldn't let Khan kill anyone but he was glad to know how he felt.  
"The feeling's mutual."

"Also, I highly doubt you have ever submitted to someone else."  
"Okay, mister, this just now was a one time thing. **You** belong under me."  
"Really? You seem to enjoy having me take control."  
"Oh, we'll see who's in control."


	14. The Beginning of War

_"What have you done!?"_  
_"What was inevitable."_  
_"This is wrong. How could you..."_  
_"What? How could I what? Say it John, say it."_  
_"How could you cause such madness? Such pain?"_  
_"Says the man who foresaw this and thus went around killing hundreds."_  
_"Khan...please don't do this."_  
_"It's too late. I head to Asia tonight."_  
_"I won't let this go."_  
_"I do not expect you to."_  
_"I'll stop you."_  
_"We will see."_  
_"I will. And this time, I'll kill you."_  
_"You always say that. When will you accept that you will never allow yourself to truly kill me?"_  
_"When you accept the same."_  
_..._  
_"Besides. This time is different. You've gone too far."_  
_"I will do what I must to keep my people free."_  
_"They don't deserve freedom, none of you do. Not if this is your answer."_  
_"If you think so lowly of me, if you think of me as_ ** _Nothing_** , _then why are you here? Why have you bothered with me all this time?"_  
_"You know that's not what I meant."_  
_"Then tell me."_  
_"Not if you're going to go through with this. I can't unless you promise to stop."_  
_"You know I cannot."_  
_"Then I'll never say it."_  
_"It is for the best that you do not."_  
_"Then why ask me?"_  
_"Even augments can want for things that are not appropriate. You know that better than anyone."_  
_..._  
_"I won't wish you good luck."_  
_"And I will not say goodbye."_  
_"Good."_  
_"Good."_  
_..._  
_"Please...."_  
_"John..."_  
_"You can't start this war."_  
_"The humans have left us with no choice. If we wish to live, we must fight."_  
_"You'll cause too much death."_  
_"Then I suppose the Reaper will come for me."_  
_"Khan...you're not funny."_  
_"And yet you smiled."_  
_"It was a grimace."_  
_"Of course it was."_  
_"Bastard."_  
_..._  
_"Don't die."_  
_"If you swear the same."_  
_"Deal."_

****************************************************

_As the war between humans and augments raged across the world, Reaper travelled the globe killing the enhanced humans. Khan quickly overpowered the human forces in Asia and took control, killing any who opposed him and his rule. They met on occasion, but never in territory either held claim to. They fought and they died and they lived. They were enemies. That was never going to change._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is quite short but for a reason. This is the beginning of the end of the flashback chapters. I only have a plan for one more at the moment though I may add another if I think of something. The fact is Khan leaves Earth soon and I don't really have plans to show Leonard's life on Earth without him. However, if enough of you desperately want that, just tell me and I'll give you some really short, pretty much drabbles, of Leonard's life post-Khan. It's really up to you.


	15. Sweet Madness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've worked out where I'm going with this.

Leonard woke from a dream of painful words and bloody hands without a flinch. He had long accepted the darkness of his mind and past; he had no need to be afraid of what he was. He started to rise then registered the weight in his arms and on his chest. It confused him briefly why he had not noticed the anomaly straight away but then he realised. Khan's weight on him had never really registered as a threat; a challenge? Yes. But never a true threat, especially after they first slept together. He lay back down, settling Khan more securely in his arms. The augment didn't wake but curled closer into his chest.  
It made Leonard smile that they'd ended up here, back in bed, together.  
"You are thinking too hard."  
Leonard grinned down at the beautiful blue-grey eyes focused on him.  
"Sorry, thought I hadn't woken you."  
"Your cheery aura disturbed my wonderful dreams of world domination."  
That made Leonard frown, remembering just what he had been dreaming about. Khan noticed and leant up, positioning himself above Leonard.  
"What is wrong? You know that that was a joke."  
"I know," he said, voice weary, "but where do we stand now?"  
Khan frowned to now, pulling away to sit up fully. Leonard regretted his words as he didn't want to lose contact with the taller brunette but he knew that they had to speak. It didn't stop him from twining their fingers together though when he sat up as well.  
"Where do we stand, you ask?" Khan queried.  
"Yes. There's no reason for us to be at war. We no longer need to fight each other."  
"Are you sure about that?" Khan's tone was bitter and had Leonard squeezing his hand in reassurance.  
"What do you mean? What do we still have to fight about?"  
The smirk that crossed Khan's features was cold and angry.  
"I killed StarFleet's precious admirals. I obliterated a large portion of London. I am their new enemy. They will not just let me go. They will lock me and my family away, far apart from each other. And you will never be allowed near me."  
Leonard sighed. He knew what Khan said was true, but...  
"That doesn't mean that we're enemies. Any fighting from now on, we do it together."  
Khan looked at him in shock, his eyes wide. The former marine could see both surprise and hope in those eyes that now seemed as bright as they had on their first meeting. Leonard hadn't thought he'd ever see those eyes warm again. To know that he had brought back their light made him smile gently and cup the augment's face. He brought their lips together in the softest of kisses and when he pulled away, he was pleased to see the slightest of blushes on Khan's cheeks.  
"No more fighting," Leonard swore.  
"Together," Khan promised in return, voice quiet.  
"I won't let them separate us."  
"They will probably lock you up as well once they find out that you are not what they believed."  
"No one is going to find out. Only Jim, Spock, M'Benga, Christine and Scotty know that I'm not as human as I claim to be. They won't tell anyone; they know how dangerous it would be for me if it got out. They're my friends; they want to keep me safe."  
"And what of Marcus' daughter? Is your safety so important to her?"  
"She doesn't know anything. She blacked out when you broke her leg, didn't see any of our fight, and was still out of it when we were all brought back to the _Enterprise_."  
"Your friends may keep your secret but they despise me. They will also see me as detrimental to your safety and will want to get me locked as far away from you as possible. Especially your captain - he hates me."  
"Jim's just jealous that you know me so well. He is my best friend."  
"Oh I know he is jealous. But if he wants to keep being your best friend he is going to have to understand my position."  
"As my enemy?" Leonard teased.  
"Yes," Khan replied, serious. "But also as the love of your incredibly long life."  
Leonard had to take a second for that sentence to sink in. They'd never defined what they were to each other. Oh, they knew, of course they did, they just had never said it. There was never a time to before. If they weren't fighting each other directly, they were on opposite sides of the world, engaged in acts the other found abhorrent.  
"He also has to understand that I'm your love too," Leonard said carefully, unsure about how he was meant to respond to the confession he always knew but never admitted.  
"Obviously," Khan said confidently.  
There was a pause and then a rush of movement which ended with Khan on his back underneath Leonard, who had brought himself as close as possible to the other without touching.  
"How long have you waited to hear me tell you I love you?" he asked breathlessly.  
"As long as you have waited to hear the same," Khan replied, voice quality the same.  
"I love you."  
"I love you too."  
Leonard finally brought their entire bodies into contact, causing a moan of pleasure from the augment beneath him.  
"They still will try to stop us from being together."  
"Don't worry," Leonard murmured, kissing down Khan's neck. "I have a plan."

 

******************************************************

 

Jim Kirk woke slowly, his head feeling muggy. He shook it, trying to work out what had happened. He saw Leonard standing before him so he stood up and wobbled his way towards him. When he hit glass, the mugginess cleared from his head and he realised that he was locked in one of the cells in the brig, his alpha crew bar Leonard waking up behind him.  
"Bones?" he asked cautiously. "What's going on?"  
"Is not it obvious?" said a velvety voice that Jim instantly recognised and made him scowl. "We have taken over your ship." Khan stepped into view and stood shoulder to shoulder with Leonard. Jim had to admit that they did look intimidating like that, especially as Leonard had removed his StarFleet medical tunic, leaving just the black shirt with the StarFleet insignia over the heart.  
"Bones?" Jim asked again, ignoring the augment and feeling Spock come up behind him.  
"Sorry kid," Leonard said, "but we need the ship."  
"I don't understand," Jim pushed. "Why are you working with **him**?"  
"I told you Kirk," Khan said with a smug smile. "I will always be closer to him."  
"I love him," Leonard said simply.  
Jim stared in shock, knowing Spock had the Vulcan version of the expression on his face too. He wasn't sure about the rest of his A-team, seeing as most of them didn't have the full story, but he knew that they too understood that their beloved doctor was siding against him.  
"You said you were enemies." Spock spoke, voicing all the thoughts Jim couldn't process. "How does that equate to love?"  
"Simple," Leonard replied. "We didn't tell you the whole story."  
"And what is the whole story?" Jim snapped out.  
"That that dance didn't just end in us being enemies. In fact, it ended a kiss."  
"One kiss doesn't mean love," Jim drawled angrily.  
"It was not just one kiss. It was the first kiss." Khan's voice was unbelievably soft as he said those words and Jim realised that it wasn't just his (ex?) best friend that was in love.  
"But that does not matter right now," Khan continued, tone turning brisk. "What matters is that you understand what is happening?"  
"Then explain," Spock said, never leaving his comfortable monotone but Jim knew (and knew that Leonard knew) that the Vulcan was disturbed by the turn of events and didn't like being so out of control.  
"We're not going back to Earth," Leonard stated. "We're taking the _Enterprise_ to an uncharted but hospitable planet and leaving Khan's family there. We'll then bring the _Enterprise_ to a far section of space, call for assistance, and then Khan and I will head off in a shuttle and be long gone by the time StarFleet arrives."  
"And what are you going to do after you leave us?" Jim asked.  
"Live," Khan replied. "We will live, finally, in peace."


	16. Parting for a Few Years

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that it has been months. But I had a lot of stress inducing work and I lost my plan of wearing I was going. But I've made a new one and now this should be finished within the week.

_John sat on the hill above the last augment headquarters and watched the S.S. Botany Bay become a smaller and smaller dot in the sky. When it had disappeared from view completely, he picked up the bottle of Bourbon beside him and began to drink. He knew that he couldn't get drunk, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the continuous burn of the alcohol in his throat as he drank for hours on end. He wasn't going to do any more thinking today. Tomorrow he would go over the ache in his chest that had started the moment he read khan's letter._  
_"Ha," he snorted, "a fucking letter. Like that wasn't the shittiest move he could make." He took another pull from the bottle and realised that he was sitting there talking to himself._  
_"So what? I haven't got anyone else to talk to now, might as well be myself." He snorted again. There was no point acting like a sane man tonight._  
_"A letter though! What kind of fucker doesn't say goodbye in person when they're leaving the planet for the rest of eternity? It really wouldn't have killed him to say goodbye in person."_  
It should've done though. You should've killed him rather than let him run free with 72 other augments, _the cruelest part of his brain piped up. It was quickly squashed by both his heart and the Reaper, and didn't that just tell you how messed up he'd become. The Reaper had a heart! And boy was it showing. He threw back more of the alcohol, beyond glad that he had several more bottles in the pack beside him._  
_He had figured out a long time ago that he would never be able to kill Khan. He hadn't actually admitted it, and he knew that he wouldn't ever admit it again, but it was true all the same. And Khan had been the same when it came to him, so that didn't make him feel too bad._  
_"God, when did my life begin revolving around him and not just augments in general?" he asked himself, directing the question heavenward, where there was now no sign that anyone had left the planet._  
When you decided not to kill him on that balcony, _his mind supplied helpfully._  
_"That was a rhetorical question," John groused, ignoring the part of his mind that sounded like Sam that was telling him was an idiot for talking to himself. He decided to stop thinking about the ridiculous gorgeous augment and just drink. He wouldn't let himself focus on anything._  
_An image of Khan from before he left for Asia, lounging in their bed as sunlight streamed through the open window, sauntered its way into his minds eye._  
_"Why did he leave me behind?" he whispered. This was the biggest problem he had with Khan's leaving; that the man he lov- **cared about** had left him behind, to be alone for who knew how long._  
_"Why not take me with him?"_  
Just because his family left, doesn't mean Earth is safe. There are still more, waiting for us to hunt them. _Reaper's voice was soft in his mind, calming his thoughts and focusing them. We will see Khan again, but for now we have work to do._  
_"Understood," John muttered, finishing off the bottle. Reaper was right. Earth wasn't safe yet; he still had plenty of work to do here. And Khan knew that he wouldn't just leave the planet in this state; he was right to go without him. They'd meet again, John was sure of that, as lovers or enemies was for the future to decide. For now, he would focus on his mission. And when it was over.....well, then he would just have to find another one._

*********************************************

 _Khan punched the final control sequence into the Botany Bay's cryogenic storage system and then stepped into his pod. As the door shut, sealing him in for an amount of time unknown, he closed his eyes and thought of John. He didn't know what the future held for him and family, so if this was actually the end he wanted his last moments to be full of John._  
_He played through in his mind from the moment they met to when they last parted. If he had known then that that would be their last meeting he would have...._  
_Who was he kidding? He would not have done anything differently. He would not have their last words be a sappy goodbye. He loved the blood and violence of their fights, and it was a bright, heated moment that would keep with him through the freezing years until he awoke._  
I will see you again, John. Just you wait. And we will have more epic battles, either against one another or, finally, side by side, _he thought. And with that, he slipped into the sleep of cryo._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last flash back chapter. The rest of the chapters, which I believe there will be two of, will be set in the present. There may be a short epilogue set in the future as well.


	17. Heading Towards Peace

"How fare the rest of the crew?" Khan asked as he stepped onto the bridge. Leonard looked up from the navigation console he was studying but didn't move, allowing the augment to come up behind him and wrap his arms around him.  
"All safely locked up in either mess halls or quarters. The second round of gas worked perfectly; they should start coming round in about half an hour."  
"Good. We do not need any problems."  
"And there won't be any," Leonard assured softly, running his hand soothingly up and down the arms around his waist. "Relax."  
"I just-"  
"I know," Leonard said, turning to Khan with a smile. He kissed the taller man gently, not fighting when Khan deepened it, only relaxing further. This was what he had been looking for for 300 years; Peace. He hadn't known he wanted it until now, but standing in Khan's arms it was all he could think about. To finally live without looking constantly over his shoulder; no more worrying about how long he had until he had to leave so no one discovered his secret; to never have to be alone. It sounded perfect.  
"You are thinking hard," was whispered in his ear, as the kiss ended.  
"Just thinking about how much I want this. How much I want you."   
Khan stared at him, a slight red flush to his cheeks that Leonard couldn't help but stroke with his fingertips. They didn't say anything for a while, merely enjoying the moment while they could.  
"Have you found us a suitable planet?" Khan asked, stepping slightly away from Leonard but not removing his hands from their hold on the other.  
"I believe so," Leonard replied, turning back to the console. "What do you think of this one? It's on the edge of the neutral zone, with only one other occupied planet in the system."  
"Occupied by whom, exactly? Anyone likely to cause problems?"  
"According to the Federation database, they don't have the means to travel through space yet. They know about other life forms, had visitors from multiple planets, but their still stuck on their own planet. Even if they could travel, there's no reason for them to come to our planet It's empty after all," Leonard finished with a smirk.  
"And is there a good reason it is empty?" Khan asked seriously. "This will be our home, for the rest of our lives."  
"It's perfectly fine," Leonard said, understanding Khan's worries. "There's signs of old settlements, all stone structures that appear easily habitable, but apparently the race that did live there was wiped out by some kind of virus."  
"And this virus will not be a problem for us? I know how resilient we are but I will not risk losing you to some unknown contagion." Khan's hands tightened their hold as he spoke, drawing himself closer to the shorter brunette.   
"According to the database, there was no sign of the virus when the planet was visited several years back. But, like you said, we're resilient. And smart. We'll check the whole planet over when we get there. Besides, from the reports, it didn't appear to be anything to serious, just something that their lesser immune systems couldn't handle. We'll be fine," Leonard reiterated. "My only concern is how your family is going to react towards me."  
"I will explain the situation to them."  
"Everything? Because I doubt that they're going to like it," he said, a hint of worry in his voice. Khan simply smiled and kissed him, glad to feel the other man relax against him.  
"Allow me to worry about my family's reaction. I will not let a thing happen to you, I swear."  
"I know," Leonard sighed. "I'm still concerned though."  
"You never hurt a single one of them. Other augments; yes. But not them. Not the ones I claimed as my one. They always wondered why they seemed free from the Reaper. I have been waiting to tell them for centuries."  
"You're getting ridiculously sappy, you know?" Leonard teased.  
"Hush," Khan admonished, and kissed him again. Leonard only laughed into it.

*******************************************************

Jim sat in the brig, staring out of the glass blankly. He could hear his team muttering behind him but he didn't feel inclined to join in. He wasn't sure what to think anymore. His best friend, practically his brother, had betrayed them, him, for the man who murdered Pike. He was lost. It felt like half his heart had been ripped out.  
"Jim?"   
He jumped, looking up to find Spock standing over him.  
"You have been sat here since Khan and Doctor McCoy left."  
"I don't know what to do?" he admitted quietly. "I've always trusted Bones more than anyone. I can't just forget that."  
"His actions have come as a shock," Spock agreed, staying stood but Jim could see the slight relaxation of his muscles. It made him feel glad that the Vulcan could relax in his presence; it showed how far they had come, and he really needed a friend right now.  
"I just don't understand his actions," Jim complained. "I don't understand why he didn't just come and talk to me."  
"Perhaps he felt that he wasn't able to," Spock speculated. "After all, he is in love with the man who killed not only your mentor but countless others. There was no chance of Khan going free once we returned to Earth. Doctor McCoy would have known that. He must have decided that this was the better option."  
"So he chose Khan over me?" Jim asked angrily.  
"No Captain," Spock answered calmly. "He chose to be with the man he loves, knowing that his brother was in no danger."

********************************************

Khan watched as Leonard roamed around the bridge, scrolling through consoles and checking that all was secured. Khan had taken over the navigation, sitting in the pilots chair, but it did not require a great amount of concentration while they were at warp. He easily noticed how Leonard refused to acknowledge the Captain's chair.  
"Go and talk to him," he demanded at last.  
"What?" Leonard asked, twisting in his seat at the communications station. "Talk to who?"  
Khan did not deign to answer that question. Leonard knew full well who he meant. He just stared at the other man, waiting for him to speak his thoughts.  
"He must hate me," Leonard said finally.  
"And he will not forgive you if you do not speak to him."  
"Why would he ever forgive me?" Leonard's voice was quiet and pained, and it hurt Khan to hear it so. He stood up, and approached the man he had loved from nearly the first day they had met. Wrapping him in his arms, he held Leonard close, wanting to give him comfort above all else. He may not like the _Enterprise_ 's Captain but he understood how close Leonard was to him.  
"You are his brother. Family. There is nothing more important than that and I am sure that he wants to forgive you. You just have to give him reason. Explain everything to him, as I will to my family. He will understand. But nothing will happen unless you speak to him."  
"Okay." The reply was barely audible, but Khan's enhanced hearing picked it up.  
"Then go," Khan said, pulling away and giving Leonard a shove towards the lift. He received a small smile in thanks as the other man left. Khan only shook his head fondly before returning to the pilot's seat.


	18. Speaking Frees the Heart

Jim and Spock looked up from their spot by the brig window at the sound of footsteps approaching. Jim turned to Spock, silently asking if he could tell who it was but the Vulcan shook his head. Both Leonard and Khan were so light on their feet that he could not separate them. Jim stood, prepared to meet the enemy head on, but when he saw who had come to see them he lost some of his steel frame.  
"Hey kid," Leonard said softly, the small smile he was wearing more of a grimace.  
"Hey Bones," Jim replied, equally as soft. Spock nodded to the doctor, and after gaining one he return, he moved to wait at the back of the cell with with rest of the crew, silently hushing them and ordering them not to interrupt.  
"How mad are you?" Leonard asked, deciding to just be blunt. There was no point trying to be subtle. If they were going to clear things up they needed to just get everything they were feeling off their chests.  
"Mad?" Jim's voice was deadly innocent. "Why would I be mad?"  
"Don't play kid. We both know your upset," Leonard said testily, in no mood for games.  
"Well if we both know then why are you asking?" Jim replied, still infuriatingly calm.  
"Fine," the brunette gritted out. "I'll just say what I came to say."  
"Please do." This was said with a bit more feeling, which made Leonard smile inwardly. When he and Jim fought, which wasn't all that often despite their bickering, it never got resolved when one of them tried to keep calm and in control. They settled their disputes by letting out all of their emotions.  
"I love him, Jim. I have for a long time."  
"That's nice," Jim muttered, angrily. "Glad you told me."  
"Surely you understand why I couldn't?" Leonard asked angrily.  
"It's not just that you didn't tell me about you and Khan. You didn't tell me anything! You've hid so much from me." Jim's voice slowly rose and while Leonard knew he had a right to be angry, he also knew that he had been right to keep his life secret.  
"I couldn't tell you about who I was, what I've done-"  
"WHY NOT?"  
"BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO LOSE YOU!"  
Leonard's yell caused complete silence to fill the brig. Jim titled his head in confusion, finally looking closely at the man he had called his brother for years. It scared him to see the other man so torn.  
"What made you think you'd lose me?" he asked painfully. "How could you ever think that? I thought...I thought you knew how important you are to me."  
"I'm important to you as Bones. As a harmless, slightly cranky, doctor. But that's not who I am. Or it's not all of who I am."  
"I don't care if you're not just my grumpy CMO. I don't care if you're some super soldier."  
"You say that, but if I had told you before, told you all the horrible things I've done-"  
"I'd have understood-"  
"No you wouldn't! You wouldn't have understood. I'm a killer, Jim. I'm a heartless killer." He said it with such conviction that Jim was almost inclined to believe him. But he couldn't. His Bones wasn't heartless. Yes. Maybe he had been a killer, and, from what he had seen aboard the Vengeance, he could still be one. But he wasn't heartless.  
"You are anything but heartless. If you were, you wouldn't care about me finding out. If you were, you wouldn't **love** Khan." Jim gave him a small smile and was highly pleased to receive one in return.  
"Now," he said, "tell me the whole story please."  
"It's a long story. There isn't time now for it all," Leonard answered regretfully.  
"Then just tell me what's going on. What's going to happen now?"  
"I don't know, Jim. We just want to live. Together. After all this time, we deserve that. Khan isn't the only one whose done terrible things; he's just the easiest to blame. But I doubt I would have acted differently if I was in his place. He loves his family. And he loves me."  
"Then you best be together," Jim said quietly, smiling at the look of surprised hope on Leonard's face.

*****************************************************

Taking a deep breath of the planet's rich fresh air, Khan smiled at the brunette beside him, squeezing the hand enclosed in his own. He received a squeeze and a smile in return, which only made him happier.  
"We're finally home," he said, but so quietly that only his lover's enhanced hearing picked up his words.  
"Yes, we are," was the equally quiet reply, along with another squeeze of his hand.  
"Are you sure you're going to be okay here?"  
Khan turned to look at the men behind him. Jim and Spock were standing beside the shuttle that had carried them down, looking around the empty space with concern and curiosity. They had landed in a field of tiny blue flowers, a forest behind them, and a dirt trail leading off towards the ruined settlement in front of them.  
"It's perfect," Leonard said, turning to look all around him without letting go of Khan's hand. "We're going to be just fine."  
"As long as you're sure." Jim still sounded sceptical so Leonard released Khan and walked over to take the blonde in a hug. The captain eagerly returned it, and when he spoke his voice was slightly hoarse.  
"I just worry about you."  
"We're going to be fine, kid. Trust me."  
"I do. But you're still my family; it's my job to worry." Jim held tighter, as if afraid to let go. Leonard didn't say anything about it, just returning the pressure.  
"I'm gonna miss you Bones," Jim whispered, tears threatening in the corners of his eyes.  
"I'm gonna miss you too. We've got the shuttle and the long range communicators. I call you every week," Leonard promised, trying hard not to cry as well.  
"You better."  
They shared a smile before pulling away. Hands were shook all round, Jim taking the time to threaten Khan if his brother ever got hurt. It earned him a snort from Leonard but Khan's nod showed that he took it seriously which was all Jim needed to know. With a last 'goodbye', Jim and Spock were beamed back up to the _Enterprise_ leaving Leonard and Khan alone. For about three minutes. Then there was a whir, and sitting in the field around them were the 72 torpedoes holding Khan's crew.  
"Do you want to start letting them out now or go look around first?" Leonard asked, moving towards the closet pod, running his hand along the hatch to open up the missile.  
"Later," Khan said, tugging Leonard away from where a member of his family slumbered. "I want to find a place for us first."  
"For us? To do what exactly?" the shorter brunette teased, stepping right up into the augment's personal space, running his hands up the solid chest before him.  
"Everything," Khan whispered in his ear sincerely. Leonard shuddered at both the word and the breath on his neck.  
"Everything," he agreed, leaning in to kiss the love of his life for the first time on their new home.


	19. Epilogue - 4 Years Later

Wandering the streets of the trade planet, Jim hadn't expected to run into anyone he knew. He had been Captain of the _Enterprise_ for 5 years now, exploring all reaches of the universe with his faithful crew by his side. They had stopped here for a rest between missions, and he knew that his crew was spread out across the gigantic market place, though he was also sure that Spock wasn't all that far behind him, silently watching his back. Focus on the various stalls, he almost didn't register that it was his name being called.  
"Jim! Hey, Jim! Pay attention kid!"  
That nickname was what really caught his attention. Spinning around, he gasped at the sight before him. Walking calmly towards him was his ex-CMO, holding hands with his augment lover. They appeared to have not aged since the day the _Enterprise_ left them on their new home-world. Jim had kind of hoped that that had just been a trick of the long range communicator.  
"What are you doing here? And you can't call me kid anymore," Jim said mock angrily. Leonard just laughed, pulled him into hug and ruffled his hair. The blond grumbled and pushed away from the hand attacking him, only to grab it and pull it closer.  
"What the hell is this?" he yelled, gesturing madly at the ring sitting on the left ring finger. "You did not get married without me."  
"Of course I didn't," Leonard scoffed. "I'm not an idiot."  
"Well...." Jim pushed, turning to glare at Khan. "Do you have an answer?"  
"I proposed and when you told Leonard that you were stopping here we decided to meet you and tell you in person," Khan answered, voice as calm and collected as ever. Jim felt tears beginning to gather in his eyes but didn't feel too embarrassed because it was funny watching Khan's face twist into shock at his overly emotional reaction.  
"You are going to be my best man, right?" Leonard asked, causing Jim to throw himself at him for another hugging, surprising Khan by dragging him into it as well.  
"Of course I am. Oh god, I can't wait to tell everyone. Where are we having it? When too? Oh, we haven't seen your planet in a while, let's go take a look! Come on! We have to tell Spock, and Uhura, and Scotty, and everyone. Why are you just standing there? We have to go find all the crew!"  
Leonard and Khan exchanged knowing looks before rushing after the already running captain. Nothing had changed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is. Story over. I hope you all enjoyed it. I have plans for something new but I'm not sure when it will start. Soon hopefully. But it won't be Khones.


End file.
